House Republicans Pledge 'Solid' Opposition to War Spending Bill

House Republicans who previously criticized Democrats for opposing troop funding during the Iraq war, said Tuesday that they will lock arms against a $105 billion war spending bill that includes money earmarked for the International Monetary Fund.

The emergency supplemental spending bill is due to be voted on the House floor later Tuesday. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said he is expecting the measure to have enough votes to pass.

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va., said the Democrats should expect "a very solid vote" from his party against the bill. He also accused the White House of illegally interfering in the vote after reports suggested administration officials called House Republicans and promised to "go easy" on them in the 2010 election if they vote for the bill.

Cantor cited liberal blogs reporting that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had approached some Republican lawmakers about the bill. Cantor urged the White House to stop what he called the illegal politicization of the bill.

"I am hoping that is not occurring because that is illegal and they ought to respond to it and put an end to it," he said.

Some Republicans are expected to vote for the bill, while some Democrats are expected to vote against it.

Hoyer left open the possibility of waiting until Wednesday to debate and vote on the package.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Republicans are opposing the bill out of support for the troops -- he said provisions in the bill "endanger" the troops and place a "global bailout" on their backs, a reference to the IMF funding.

Many Republicans voted in favor of the first version of the bill. The Republican reluctance this time around sent Democratic leaders scrambling to round up their votes. Many liberal Democrats said they'd vote against the package if it included a Senate-produced provision that would ban the release of controversial "torture" photos of detainees.

House and Senate negotiators stripped that language out of the bill in a joint panel that wrote the final version of the bill. Democratic leaders hope that courts enough supporters to approve the measure, though Boehner cited the removal of the provision as another reason for GOP opposition to the overall bill.

Barely a handful of Republicans are expected to vote in favor of the bill, with Republicans already preparing to discredit any members of the party who might vote for it.

Among the anticipated GOP supporters is Rep. John McHugh, R-N.Y., whom President Obama nominated two weeks ago to be Army secretary. A senior Republican source suggested McHugh could be creating a conflict of interest by voting on military-related legislation while his Army secretary nomination is pending before the Senate.